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VIDEO: Partial remains of missing Savannah man found in home of Effingham hostage suspect

Female hostage, brother arrested for concealing a body

Investigators in Effingham County have discovered part of the body of a missing Savannah man in the home of the suspect who was gunned down after holding a woman hostage Friday in the Rincon area.

The partial remains of Charles Ray, a Savannah man who went missing New Year's Eve, were discovered by police late Friday evening in the home of Chad Moretz, 34, of Rincon. Moretz was gunned down by the Savannah SWAT team Friday after holding his wife Kimberly Moretz hostage in their Whitehall Ave. home for almost five hours.

Effingham County Sherriff's Office spokesman David Ehsanipoor said in a press conference Saturday afternoon that authorities believe Moretz is responsible for Ray's death. Other partial remains of Ray's body were also discovered in a storage unit in Jasper County, S.C., Ehsanipoor said.

Authorities received information that a body may be inside the home during the process of Friday's hostage standoff, Ehsanipoor said.

After securing a search warrant and locating the partial remains in Moretz's home, investigators say they appear to match the body with that of the remains found earlier in Jasper County, S.C. An autopsy has confirmed that the remains found in S.C. belong to Ray.

Moretz's wife, Kimberly, and her brother, Kevin Lambert, 38, of Fla., have both been charged with concealing a body and are being held in the Effingham County Jail.

Kimberly Moretz had previously been taken to Memorial University Medical Center Friday evening for minor injuries related to the hostage situation.

For more on this story, follow Effingham editor Deann Komanecky on Twitter at @deannsk, and come back to savannahnow.com later.